many people call foreign food western food, while some people call "western" developed country food western food. In fact, western food should be the general name of European and American cuisines in China, represented by France, Italy, the United States, Britain, Russia and other countries. In addition to western food, the foreign food mentioned here also includes the food of developed Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, that is, to talk about the characteristics of developed countries' food as a Chinese food messenger and to talk about western food in a broad sense.
chef training
in many developed countries, chef training is quite strict. It is necessary to hold a certificate. For example, in neighboring Japan, the Chef Law was promulgated around 1954, and the standards of chef education and assessment are quite strict.
In some western countries, besides the disciplines of cooking technology, such as nutrition, food chemistry, biology, physics, medicine, agronomy, aquatic products, forestry, animal husbandry, food science, technology, etc., the curriculum of chef schools also offers economics, marketing, psychology, history, folklore and even materials science and electronics in new fields, so as to cultivate students' comprehensive quality. Cooking and catering industry is a changing industry. Generally, western cooking school is equipped with multimedia classrooms, so that students can have a good understanding of international new ideas, new achievements and new methods of cooking. Making cooking education a dynamic training and constantly adapting to social needs o
The good professionalism of western chefs is also inseparable from their good college education. A long time ago, cooking was a bad thing in China, which often attracted people's discrimination. Many people were desperate to cook. Some of our predecessors were short-sighted and often worked for food, so sometimes their self-control was poor, which affected the whole industry. It was also a derogatory word for people to call chefs "cooks" in the old days. In most chef schools in western countries, professional ethics is a compulsory course. First of all, it is emphasized that this is a noble industry, so as to cultivate students' good self-discipline and professionalism.
many western countries have fixed the assessment criteria of chefs in the form of laws, and successively promulgated the Chef Law and the Nutritionist Law, which raised the entry point of the kitchen line to a very high level, which is also a reason for the relatively high quality of western chefs.
Kitchen equipment
The kitchens of foreign restaurants are generally spacious and bright, and the ratio of restaurant area to kitchen area is generally L: 1.6 to 1: lo Western-style kitchens often divide the kitchen into lettuce processing, raw meat processing, seafood processing, hot food processing, cold food processing, bread processing, dim sum processing, carving and decoration rooms and so on according to the different processes and needs of food production. Among them, the processing of hot dishes in large kitchens is divided into seafood production group, cooking and daily special dish group, soup production group, barbecue group, grilled dish production group, vegetable dish production group, egg dish production group and so on. In short, the division of labor in foreign western kitchens is relatively detailed, and each chef has clear responsibilities. At the same time, their equipment is also complete and specific.
Western food equipment mainly refers to various stoves, insulation equipment and cutting equipment. After years of improvement, modern western food equipment has the characteristics of economy, practicality, high production efficiency and convenient operation.
nowadays, many western-style food equipments are combined, and the automation degree is further improved. There are also temperature control and time control devices inside them. Today's western food cutting machinery tends to be multi-functional. Now, some equipment are introduced as follows:
Open oven: the fire source is at the top of the oven, and some people also call it the shovel oven. There is a stainless steel frame inside, and the heating degree of dishes can be controlled by the height of the lifting frame. The food cooked in this oven not only ripens quickly, but also its color is easy to control.
flat plate furnace: similar to grilling furnace, the heat source is below the furnace surface, and the heat source is a square plate. Food can be fried on an iron plate. This kind of stove has high working efficiency and good sanitary conditions. If you use this kind of stove to heat casserole dishes in Chinese food, the heating will be more uniform and the fire size will be easy to control.
oven: it is the main equipment in the western kitchen, and it has a wide range of uses. There are two kinds of ovens: pastry oven and dish oven, which are often mixed in Chinese food. According to its working mode, it is divided into conventional oven, convection oven, rotary oven and microwave oven.
rice rotary cooking stove: this is a very practical and convenient equipment, which consists of two parts, the upper part is a square pot, and the lower part is a heating furnace. The pot on the top can be tilted outwards, which is more convenient to use.
bone saw: it is mainly used to cut large pieces of meat with bones. It is very convenient to use in large kitchens, and the standard is easy to control and the efficiency is high.
There are other practical universal peelers, steamer grills, multifunctional mixers, slicers, cutting machines, dough openers, insulated cars, dough boxes, insulated lamps, etc. In addition, in many kitchens abroad, the knives are divided into several types according to different purposes, such as chef's knife, slice knife, salad knife, boning knife, serrated knife and machete. Pots are divided into sauce pots, pans, steamers and so on according to different uses.
Some kitchen equipment abroad is characterized by its strong specificity, high automation and humanized design, which makes it convenient and practical. Because of the clear, careful and professional division of labor in the kitchen, chefs are more skilled, which makes it easier to ensure the quality of products and improve work efficiency.
standard of raw materials
There is a saying in China kitchen: "A chef has three skills, and materials have seven merits." O emphasizes the importance of personal selection and grading of raw materials, that is, the standard of raw materials plays a decisive role in the production of dishes.
In foreign countries, suppliers have further standardized the raw materials according to their characteristics, and chefs no longer judge and determine which raw materials to use solely based on their own experience. For example, in the United States, due to the inspection and supervision of food raw materials by FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the Ministry of Agriculture, all foods sold in the market before July 1994 were marked with ingredients, fat content and calories. Olive oil can be divided into pure oil, essential oil, first-class and second-class according to different needs. Some foreign western food raw materials are briefly introduced:
Milk: Milk is an indispensable raw material in western food, which can be divided into whole milk, low-fat milk and skimmed milk according to different needs.
Full-fat milk refers to milk that has not been skimmed, and contains about 3.25% milk fat. It needs to be homogenized, that is, the milk is poured into a high-speed blender for processing, so that the cream is mixed with other substances.
Low-fat milk is milk with partially extracted cream, which usually contains about 1.5%-1.2% milk fat.
skimmed milk is milk from which all the milk fat is extracted, and it contains almost no milk fat.
other common raw materials, for example, also have strict grades. American eggs (AA) are super, first (A), second (B), third (C) and so on.
The above is just a simple example. In western developed countries, the strict classification standard of cooking materials reduces the cooking mistakes caused by the inexperience and inaccurate grasp of materials, and further improves the work efficiency and ensures the quality of products.
Operation standard
The quality stability of restaurant dishes comes from standardized operation. In many kitchens abroad, due to the meticulous division of labor, some dishes are similar to assembly line operation. The quality of products is controlled by the standard recipes made by each restaurant, that is, the whole process of raw material selection, procurement, cleaning, cutting and matching, processing and loading has strict requirements and standards, thus reducing many human factors and ensuring the unified standards of product quality.
The operation standard of dinner ensures the quality of the product, but it still needs the chef to reach a certain technical level, and the secret weapon of western-style fast food dominating the world comes from the unified operation standard. McDonald's food recipes are collected from the headquarters, and they can train students who know nothing about food production into qualified skilled workers in a short time. Relying on thousands of pages of specifications, even if the company has a large turnover of personnel, her service and product quality can still be well guaranteed.
at present, many hotels in China are also doing IS19111 quality management system certification, and some of them are mere formality, which can't play their due role in the control of products. This requires us to keep close to our actual work when formulating operating specifications, which is more humane and operable.
nutrition collocation
according to the regulations of the FDA of the United States, the food sold in the market must be marked with its nutritional components. In the detection of food, they have more advanced detection equipment, which can well measure the actual nutrition of food after maturity. As far as I know, at present, the nutritional content of recipes detected by domestic evaluation software is actually the accumulation of raw materials, while the evaluation process of nutritional content after cooking is more complicated and rarely used.
The meat in western food is mainly chicken, fish, beef and mutton, and at the same time, more attention is paid to the combination of meat and nutrition in side dishes. Western-style dinner usually consists of three or four courses, but the quantity is not too large, but the nutrition is reasonable. Unlike Chinese food, which is mainly dinner, eight or nine people gather around a table, and cold dishes, hot dishes and staple foods are at least fifteen or six courses, which is not only unreasonable in terms of hygiene, but also unreasonable in nutrition intake. Everyone only takes his favorite food. Although there are many varieties, the nutrition may not be balanced. What needs to be paid attention to is the collocation of color and nutrition. At present, most Chinese food is mainly meat, and it is still plagued by "three highs".
the raw materials of western food are mostly fresh, pollution-free, natural and natural in operation technology, so as to give full play to its original flavor, and dry goods are not used too much.
olive oil is the main cooking oil. I'm afraid many people don't know that olive oil is actually fresh olive juice. Pick an olive in your hand and squeeze it gently, and the juice will flow out. It is light oil, which is different from the familiar sticky feeling. I am afraid that in the world of edible oil, only it is the freshest. Because it contains a lot of unsaturated fatty acids and a variety of special ingredients, it has strong antioxidant function, which is not only easy for human body to absorb, but also the cooked dishes are not mottled.
At present, the cooking level of abalone and shark's fin seems to be an important symbol of the level of Chinese chefs. In our neighboring countries, Japan and South Korea, they cook fresh abalone in a variety of ways, such as sashimi, stew, steamed rice with vegetables, and mixed with onions, garlic, pepper and so on. The taste is very unusual and the nutrition is more reasonable.
China's dim sum mainly uses big oil, which contains macromolecular saturated fatty acids, which is not good for human body if eaten too much, while West Point mainly uses butter, mainly the oil separated from cream, which is rich in vitamins A, D and inorganic salts, which is not only fragrant but also beneficial for human body to absorb.
Laidian plate
The plate of western food has a strong natural three-dimensional effect and strong edibility, and most of all the foods put into the plate can be eaten. Ornaments are the side dishes of the main course.
The change of Chinese food technology is more complicated. Many dishes are labor-consuming and time-consuming, and there are too many decorations. Many of them are inedible, which not only wastes raw materials, but also may not have a good effect.
Hygiene
Western food is very strict in system and education. In Shangri-La, you often have to receive training, and there are special hotel health leaders to explain, demonstrate and test. The hygienic requirements for eggs are not like we pick them up and beat them. Many dirty things are beaten down. Clean it every day, including refrigerators and cold storage. Wear gloves and masks when sharing meals.
professionalism
Foreign companies educate their employees in this way, and regard the company's affairs as their own. The interests of the company are higher than personal interests, and everything must be subject to the company's arrangements. Only hard work is the best reward for the company.
working efficiency
as a cook abroad, I work nervously and quickly, so I don't have more time to think. In many cases, I told you at that time that I wanted the result immediately. In that environment, the chef's work is very tense and orderly, and thousands of people's banquets are well prepared by more than a dozen people.
Cooking Competition
Foreign cooking competitions contain a lot of gold. Sometimes, when a project passes the three-day competition, the highest prize may produce one or two silver medals or bronze medals, not the first few must be gold medals, and the judges have high requirements for dishes. There are many cooking competitions for western food, including more than 21, which is different from those for Chinese food, which has played a positive role in improving chefs' skills in many aspects.
Because "Haoxianglai" has just moved in here, the opening is 51% discount, and the three of us also join in the fun. In order to entertain more people, the tables and chairs in the restaurant are crowded, lacking the elegance and calmness of western restaurants, and the tables are spread out like flowing water seats in the countryside.
In fact, a real western restaurant pays the most attention to the elegance and quietness of the environment.
Western food is eating with mood, while Chinese food is eating to adjust mood.
western food is a leisurely mood while eating slowly in melodious music. And Chinese food can't be cold and quiet, it needs a lively atmosphere, and different banquets must have unreasonable rhetoric.
Western food is best when you are in a good mood, or when you are in a bad mood. One or two people sit alone, eat silently, and wander aimlessly. Chinese food should be about friends and friends, and you should eat heartily, especially when you meet friends and get together with your relatives.
The meticulous Chinese food is incomparable to western food. Western food pays too much attention to the collocation of nutrition, so it loses its dazzling appearance, especially the five-ripe food, which is bloody and shocking, and there are not many varieties of Chinese food. Chinese food pays attention to the complete color, flavor, medium-sized research, cooking and frying, and can cook different delicacies with different degrees of heat, different raw materials and even different techniques.
Western food is casual and solemn, while Chinese food is solemn and casual. So on Valentine's Day or Christmas Eve, sitting on a low sofa or rocking chair and listening to the piano music, you can enjoy a touch at any time. However, during the Spring Festival, weddings or when friends come from afar, it is necessary for those groups to sit around a table, exchange cups and make overall plans. Even a few people who are not drunk can't express this good mood, let alone show hospitality. At this time, it is absolutely impossible for you to wander around.
so Chinese food ≠ Chinese food.